Bittersweet

My sister and her family are heading North to start their "new" lives. You can read about their move HERE. However, the long and short of it is, her hubby is an ag man and has been unable to find a suitable job in the Kansas area, so off to Iowa they go.
Melissa and I had our baby girls just 6.5 weeks apart. These girls love each other very much and it is going to be sad when they are gone. I keep thinking they really aren't moving, so it hasn't hit me yet. (You know like that episode of Friends when Rachel isn't upset about moving out of Monica's apartment because she doesn't believe Monica and Chandler are really moving in together?!?!--That's where I am).
But I am really going to miss these girls once the warm weather rolls around and we could be going to the park, library, pool, and shopping. There were so many "fun" things we had planned.
I wish I was as sentimental and sweet as my sister (she wrote a sweet post about the girls HERE)... and could write something really great, but I just don't have the words. All I can say is I do love this family and am going to miss them terribly, especially watching the girls grow up together! However, I am happy they found this great job that seems to be a perfect fit for their family. I wish you all the best.

So I will leave you with some pics of these two cute cousins. I just know these two would be up to trouble someday, I guess now they will just have to save it for the holidays! I mean everyone needs a pen pal right?!

Van Gogh? Picasso?

Our first masterpiece.

The people behind the "Story of Us"

I thought I would give you all a little glimpse into who we are. As promised previously, I am going to make a conscious effort to blog a little more about all of "us."

♥ What are your middle names? Eric & Jessica
♥ How long have you been together? since Oct '01
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? ummm 5 minutes. HA! Well sort of, it is sort of a sorted tale that involved a triangle or two. But in all actuality 2/3 months.
♥ Who asked who out? Him.
♥ How old are each of you? 29 (him) and 27 25(me)
♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most? mine since he doesn't have any.
♥ Do you have any children together? one, Leighton
♥ What about pets? 2 toy poodles, Tuck and Toby
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Just depends on the day and my mood :)
♥ Did you go to the same school? No for HS; Yes, for college
♥ Are you from the same home town? Sort of our hometown are approx. 40 minutes apart.
♥ Who is the smartest? Depends on the question. Math and science: Me; Random sports/car/and weather questions: Him.
♥ Who is the most sensitive? Oh 100% ME!
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? We use to eat out a lot at any Mexican restaurant, but now we have cut WAY back and are lucky to go out to eat 1x every 3 months.
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? We went on a Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon...oh, to go back!
♥ Who has the worst temper? me. Moving on...
♥ Who does the cooking? I do all the cooking, on occasion he can make a mean quesadilla .
♥ Who is more social? He is definitely. If it wasn't for him I would most likely never leave the house.
♥Who is the neat freak? ME!
♥ Who is the more stubborn? Toss up...I am going to say him.
♥ Who hogs the bed? the dogs.
♥ Who wakes up earlier? Him.
♥ Where was your first date? Wendy's and Monster's Inc.
♥ Who has the bigger family? Me.
♥ Do you get flowers often? No, but I get jewlery...which far exceeds flowers in my book! :)
♥ How do you spend the holidays? between the all the families.
♥ Who is more jealous? I don't think either of us.
♥ How long did it take to get serious? 6-7 months. Engaged shortly after our 1 year anniversary.
♥ Who does/ did the laundry? Me.
♥ Who’s better with the computer? Him. You would think after working in a computer store for 4 years I would have a clue, but I don't. Now give me a Mac and I am your girl!
♥ Who drives when you are together? Him. I absolutely loathe, yes loathe driving. I refuse to even offer to help drive AND he prefers it that way b/c he loves driving.

Ok well, hope you had a little fun getting to know about us!

God's love

I don't typically like to share about what I am learning in my devotions, mostly because one day I felt convicted when a great woman in ministry said "sometimes we are so busy trying to pass on the word, we forget to receive it in our own lives first."

However, today I received God's love. You know that feeling when you hold your newborn baby for the first time and you are so filled with love for her you think you might just squeeze it right out of her?! Today it hit me that, that is what God's love is like for us. IF we actually were "able to comprehend...the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge...(Eph. 3:18-19). As my devotion book put it, if we were to experience that all now we would be overwhelmed to the point of feeling crushed.
I don't know about you, but I can't wait to feel "crushed" by God's love someday in eternity.
May you experience God's love today!

I Heart Reba

Those of you who know me well, know how I love Reba! I grew up on her. I knew all the words to all her songs by the time I was 5. She "taught" me how to sing. Some of my best memories as a child is sitting in the car with my mom belting out Reba tunes. Reba is a family affair too. My mom, aunt, sisters and cousin all heart Reba too...so I am sure they are only slightly jealous of my night, although we all have been to our fair share of Reba concerts!! I have been to 3. Now if I could only meet her my life would be complete.

Ok enough gushing. Last night we went with some friends to the George Strait and Reba concert!! It was awesome and can't believe I almost passed up this opportunity. Reba probably put on one of the best shows I have seen yet. George, well he is George Strait. He sings. He is amazing, but he will never be Reba!

Shutting up now...on to the pictures!

LeAnn Wolmack opened.

Reba sang lots of her old and new hits!
Favorite: The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia

Duet with LeAnn: Does He Love You
Amazing!!!

For those Reba show fans you will recognize Melissa Peterman.
She is super funny. She was on the Kelly Clarkson/Reba tour 2 years ago (which I also went too!) and was so excited to see her back!

They did a "duet" of the show's theme song "Survivor."

At the end of her set Reba left the stage...my friends were disappointed she didn't do "Fancy." I assured them it was always one of her final songs and she HAD to do it! Well, she did and it is THE best I have ever seen it done! The screens showed the music video intro and the audience erupted. The next thing you see is this:

A cab bringing Reba back.
(It is part of the music video, in case you are unaware of her signature song/video).

Then she stepped out in her red dress.
(also a huge piece of the song).

Goodnight Reba! Until next time...

Now for George Strait!

This is what George does, sing and play guitar. He doesn't put on a "show." It was great to see him, but let's be honest why I was really there...

I will be putting up ALL the zillion pics I took on my shutterfly site.

I'm Still a Rock Star...

"...I got my rock moves..."

65 in 365 update 2

Here is a little update on my 65 in 365. Once again I added a few more things since I am still trying to reached the magic 65. I know this is one of those really boring posts that no one but me and perhaps others (History of the Harveys and Postcards from Insanity) who are doing this find interesting...but I like LOVE seeing my progress. Honestly, I am super proud of myself that in 3 months I have accomplished quiet a bit!

RECAP:
Starting Nov. 19th, 2009 through Nov. 18th, 2010 I have the highest aspirations to get this list completed. I need my blog to keep me accountable. Currently, my list is only 27 36 50 tasks...I can't come up with 65 but I will add to it as I think of things, but let's face it, I may be hard pressed to get these 27 36 50 things done. HA!

1. Finish Leighton's First Year Scrapbook/Photobook by Feb. 15th.
2. Submit RD portfolio (approved!)
3. Do at least 30 continuing Eds. (4/30)
4. Get grocery budget to ~$150/mo. (complete after 4 months in a row 1/4)
5. Start exercising again...consistently! (complete after 4 months 1/4)
6. Complete at least 4 personal Bible studies (1/4)
7. Memorize at least 24 verses (4/24)
8. Read at least 12 adult books. (ie not kid's books) (3/12)
9. Finish decorating my basement.
10. Start going on monthly dates w/ the hubs. (2/12)
+do the Great Date Experiment
11. Get Meg's HS Grad "project" done (MAY)
12. Get my storage closet under control.
13. Try 1 new recipe a month (3/12)
14. Volunteer at church
15. Research/Start own RD counseling career.
16. Get all loose photos organized in albums
17. Donate excess clothes and stuff (2x/ year).
+donated 2009 stuff
18. Wipe clean my Mac computer and sell it.
19. Organize/consolidate office area.
20. Create and implement cleaning schedule.
21. Clean fridge 1x every 6mo. (1/2)
22. Keep my photo site up to date every two weeks. (4/24)
23. Host at least 3 family dinners (3/3)
24. Start a vegetable garden
25. Paint the house trim
26. Clean out window wells.
27. Clean and organize garage.
28. Learn how to draw a line through words on my blog :)
29. Get into a routine with Leighton. (after not having one for the last 10.5 months!) (complete after 3 months 1/3)
30. Work with Leighton consistently on sign language.
31. Read to Leighton at least once everyday.--(complete after 3 months 0/3)
32. Get in a play group or host one...basically GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! (at least 2x/mo. 2/24)
33. Make "school" scrapbook for hubby.
34. Be a better friend. Since Lo we have neglected some of these relationships. Go out w/ friends 1x every 6 wks at least. (2/8)
35. Strive to live up to Proverbs 31.
36. Take more pictures of everything!(take at least 15 photos/month) (1/12mo)
NEW!
37. Plan and pull off Leighton's FIRST birthday party.
38. Figure out a playroom/area for all these toys!!
39. Deep clean house 1x.
40. Participate in Money Saving Mom Cooking Freezer day at least 1x.
41. Do an eat from the pantry challenge for 1 week at least 3x (0/3).
42. Create a "in my next house" list ;)
43. Create a "mud room" area for all our jackets/diaper bags/purses.
44. Get a new swimsuit for myself. The last one I got was for my honeymoon 6 years ago!!
45. Plan and go on some kind of a vacation as a family.
46. Have someone watch Lo over night, so Chad and I can have an over night date.
47. Keep Lo's scrapbook and baby book up-to-date.
48. Take family pictures.
49. Take Lo's 1 year and 18 month pics.
50. Start a couples devotional.

Key:
IP= In Progress

Starting point
Update 1

The Great Date Experiment

I will be the first to admit that this blog is mostly all about Leighton and very little not about "Us," but it is time to change that starting with The Great Date Experiment.

Have you heard of this? If not you should definitely check it out HERE.
Our church, is participating, along with several other churches in the country, and I am really excited about it! This is a really a great way to get out of that dating rut. Chad and I need some fun ideas to do other than just dinner and a movie. I am hoping this will deepen our relationship, especially since our relationship has been put on the back burner since Lo joined our world.
Like I said you can click on the link above and check it out and do it for yourselves, even if your church isn't participating! Go on do it, I'll wait..

See it looks like fun! Anyway, we plan on doing it, it is 2-fold really; 1. It will (hopefully) improve our relationship and 2. give me something to blog about other than Leighton.
I am excited and hope you all join us!
Happy Dating!!

P.S. This is for the young and old...you are NEVER too old to "date" your hubby or wife!

Leighton Olivia Year in Review

My darling daughter,
You turn ONE today! It is so hard for me to believe it has already been an entire year. I read somewhere that the first six weeks feel like a year and then after that it feels like six weeks. How true! You have been an absolute delight and have brought the greatest joy to our lives. I can not thank daddy enough for letting me stay at home with you. I would give up everything I own just so I could be here for all your firsts. Really we both have been learning lots about one another. I think now we have it all figured out and we are hitting our stride.


I am so sad that you are growing up but so happy all at the same time. I miss the "what was" but I have learned over the pass year to enjoy the right now! Tomorrow may never come. I love you so much my precious little daughter, you are growing into a beautiful little girl from the inside out. You have the sweetest and most tender heart I have experienced. I love how you love and kiss your dolls. You give everyone a kiss who asks for one. When someone is upset you pat them and I am pretty sure you are telling them "it's ok" in your own little baby language. You are even starting to be a cuddle bug in the evenings.


Over the course of the year you have collected quite a few nicknames. In our family it is a sign of endearment. Currently your nicknames are: Lo, LoLo, Little sister, Lofers, Lo Lo girl, Princess Buttercup, and Goofies (only Aunt Meg calls you that).


You started walking at the end of January and now you are really getting the hang of it. You should be running soon.
You climb the stairs like a pro, now if I could only get you to come DOWN the stairs.


You still wear a size 2 diaper. You are in size 6-9 month onesies and size 9-12 month pants.

You only have TWO teeth...a little odd since I just read babies usually have SIX teeth by their first birthday, but you little gummy smile is so cute just the same.


We have worked through some bad hair phases. I was unaware in denial about how bad your hair really was. Bows did NOT hide it well. However, we are the better for persevering through it. You now have longer and thicker locks, although we are probably about to embark on the awkward mullet phase, but once again we shall persevere!

You don't really say much. You have said "dada," "ba," "bye," and babble quite earnestly but no real words yet. I have a feeling it is all going to click one day soon and you will tell me "actually I have always had a rather extensive vocabulary...and a superlative command of syntax, I simply chose not to employ them." --Uh-uh Huh, from Little Rascals or something like that ;) So for now we rely on sign language to communicate.

You are quite content to play by yourself, which is SO nice for mommy. Your favorite toy is your toolbox sorter and you love your "Pat the Bunny" book. You are such a good helper, when you aren't "hiding" things. I can't tell you how many chapsticks daddy has lost because you "hide" them. :) You love music, Elmo's World, poodle (your blankie), and your baby doll Allie.


Story Time:

The other day your cousin Landrey was here and she tried to take your baby Allie from you. You immediately started crying and reaching for her. When you got her back you held her so tightly to keep Landrey from stealing her again. You have never reacted like that over any toy before. I knew you loved baby Allie, since she has to do everything with us such as eating cheerios with you, but I didn't realize how deep the bond was. It was very sweet.

Daddy being the great teacher he is taught you to find your feet, hands and head. Mommy hasn't been so great in that department, I like to let you explore things for yourself, but I promise to start working on all those things with you. I can tell you are smart, so I am sure you will pick up on it in no time!

You are still a fantastic eater. There is still nothing you won't eat and you are completely on table food, what we eat you eat. You especially love cheerios, puffs and cuties (the oranges). Grandpa Kevin is your new best friend since he always has cheerios in his pockets. He's silly. You have cheerios and milk for breakfast, turkey and cheese for lunch and whatever it is we are eating for dinner. You get 4 whole milk bottles during the day too. We have a snack most everyday at 430, mostly because daddy needs a snack :).

You sleep from 630p-630a, take a bottle and then sleep for another 2 hours. When you get up the first thing you have to do is greet the dogs. You call out to them in you own little way. They know they have to come in and tell you good morning. It makes me smile.
You take 2 naps, 1 is at around 1030/1100 and the other one is at around 2ish. You will nap anywhere from 30-90 minutes...I LOVE the consistency. HA! Good thing I don't schedule you, you wouldn't stick to it anyway.


Thankfully, you have never been "sick" this year. Knock on wood. You have had maybe 3 colds, but nothing unbearable and you are always a good little patient. Hopefully, we can keep it that way.

And finally the 1 year stats: You are most definitely my "little" girl!
Ht: 27 inches ~5th% (I some how left the dr. with out the sheet! :( so this is based on my growth chart I have on her).
Wt: 16# ~5th%


This has been an AMAZING year. I have cherished every second. We love you with ALL of our hearts sweet baby girl!!

Happy FIRST Birthday!

Happy Birthday Leighton Olivia (aka picture overload!)

We celebrated your FIRST birthday on Feb. 13 at our home.
Family and close friends were invited.
The theme was Pink Parisian Poodle, just like your nursery.
I had LOTS of fun planning your party and I think it went over really well!

We had angel food and strawberry cupcakes, sugar cookies, jelly bellies (these were for mommy, not you ;) ) and pink lemonade. All of it was very yummy!

Pictures are worth a thousand words, so I shall let them tell the story, with limited interruption from me! HA!

I (with the help of my mom and her cricut) made this banner for her.
I think it turned out super adorable and I plan on hanging it up each year!

The sugar cookies. I had visions of these looking way fabulous...
sadly even though I had all the "right" tools, I guess I lack the skill.
Oh well, they were yummy just the same.

Evidently not only I enjoy jelly bellies! Caught you Uncle Kreg! :)

The grandmas' checking out my scrapbook!

The Crew!

My mom got this dolly (baby Julia aka JuJu) for her...she wants her to like it better than Allie (even though she got her Allie too). Sorry mom I am trying but she is stilled pretty in love with Allie!

Aunt Melissa, got her this microphone. This girl loves to "sing."
Jendy thinks I am kidding, but I am not...I am really hoping she will give her voice lessons starting in a few years!

Isn't that bib precious?!

This is her "tired" look. Poor girl needed a nap bad! I think that is why she didn't gobble up the cupcake like we had expected!
I also made those cupcake toppers on my mom's cricut...that thing is amazing, expensive, but amazing!

She got an Angel Food Cupcake, but tonight for her actually birthday she can try strawberry!



Next weekend: Brodsters FIRST Birthday!
He and Leighton were born 3 days apart. It is fate, I know it ;)

A special thanks to my sister Melissa, for taking most of the pictures and coming over on Friday to help me get everything done!
Thank you to ALL of you who have helped make her first year remarkable! We love all of our family and friends that have loved on her this year!